Voters in most New Jersey school districts headed to the polls today to decide on local school budgets. With state aid cuts and animosity between Gov. Chris Christie and the New Jersey Education Association, the elections became very heated.

Here is what happens next:

What happens if the budget failed?
School districts have two days after election results are certified to deliver defeated budgets to their local governing body. The governing body can trim the budget and recommend reductions in expenditures, or leave it as is. The school board is not obligated to follow the specific recommendations for cuts; it only must comply with the dollar amount. If a school board does not agree with a town’s cuts to the defeated budget, it can apply to the state education commissioner for restoration of the funds. If voters reject a second ballot question, there is no appeal.

What happens if a regional school district budget failed?
The regional board of education and administration will sit down with the mayor or a representative from all municipalities in the district. For example, North Hunterdon Regional High School District consists of 12 towns, so mayors from each of the towns will make the decision to decrease the tax levy by a certain dollar figure, or they can choose to leave the budget as is.

If layoffs and program cuts are announced and the budget passed can it still change?
Yes. If state aid increases, districts may use that money to restore staff and programs. Also, if teacher unions agree to renegotiate their contracts,
the money saved can be used to restore programs.

How much will my taxes increase this year?
Generally, the school part of a local property tax levy is not permitted to exceed 4 percent, although the law allows exceptions for specific reasons, such as loss of state aid or increases in health insurance premiums. The commissioner of education, however, has said the county superintendents will discourage school districts from using these exceptions.

Chris Christie visits Boonton school, praises union for agreeing to wage freezeWhen Gov. Chris Christie issued a budget that heavily slashed public school funding, he threw down the gauntlet for teachers unions to take a hit and reopen contracts to avoid program cuts and job losses. Today, Christie visited one school district that took up the challenge. Boonton schools lost some $1.2 million in school aid. Superintendent Christine Johnson says the district was headed for a minimum of 25 jobs being cut and cuts to school programs when she called an emergency faculty meeting. Less than a week later, a deal was struck with the Boonton Education Association, the union that represents the district’s teachers, secretaries and maintenance workers, that involved a nine-month wage freeze, among other concessions. Speaking outside John Hill Elementary School, Christie praised the union for having the courage to essentially renegotiate its contract and urged other districts to do the same. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)